Learning To Live
by bibliobibuli1
Summary: Annabelle Clifton,a bright woman with a tortured past joins the BAU, perfect for the job.But when things finally go right, she is forced to face her worst nightmares, fight her inner and outer demons, and question everything that she has ever known Reid/OC
1. Introductions & Mishaps

Hey! This is my first time putting my fan fiction out there, so PLEASE let me know what you think. Anything will suffice.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR CRIMINAL MINDS, AND NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED.

"Who do you think she is?"

"Maybe she's new?"

"She doesn't look old enough to be here,though?"

"Maybe Hotch is meeting her for personal reasons?"

"No, wouldn't she of dressed more casual if she knew him?" The whispers surrounding me from all directions continued as I pretended not to hear, I pulled out a case file from my purse, and started to look it over.

"You may come in." The cool voice of Aaron Hotchner demanded loudly,and I dropped the file back into my purse and began to stride into his office.

The bright lights in the office waved at me as I uttered a single 'hello' and sat down.

"Miss Clifton, you know why you are here today."

"Yes I do, Agent Hotchner." I trailed off at the end,unsure on what to call him.

"Call me Hotch, we will be working together after all."

"When do I begin?" The question slipped out,with a sliver of hope inserted, and I cringed, expecting a reprimand.

"You can begin today to settle in, and meet the other members of the team." Hotchner looked amused at my apparent enthusiasm, and nodding toward the door, a clear dismissal.  
>I stepped out of the office staring directly at the bland wall in front of me, not making any eye contact with the whispering women that were now blatantly staring. I swung my purse onto my back and I walked down the stairs. Scanning the area, I located my desk. It was an average desk, nothing special, but this was going to be my home away from home, so I began to inspect it.<br>One of the women in the cluster broke away and approached me,her pumps click-clacking on the linoleum floor,and inquired,

"Who are you?I'm Brisham." She seemed very stuck-up, and I disliked her immediately.

"Annabelle Clifton. I'm the new member of the BAU."

"Oh really? But honey you don't look older than 22, maybe you've got it mixed up?" It was true, I didn't look older than 22, with my willowy frame and petite body, but who was this woman, undermining me without even knowing me?

"It was a special exception." I kept my voice cool and brisk, urging the woman to go away already.

"Oh, if you need anything at all honey, just call me over."

And with that she skittered back to her group, and animated whispering ensued the second she got back. Within the hour, the whole FBI would probably know about the freak girl who joined the BAU at such a young age, sighing I turned back at my desk, but this time pulling out a thick paperback. I settled into the uncomfortable chair, and let the worries fly away with every page.

"Are you the new girl?" A deep voice spoke right next to me, and I literally jumped up. I instantly carved my face into a neutral expression, and gazed up at the man.

"Sorry if I startled you. I'm Derek Morgan."

This Derek Morgan was what my mother would have called a 'looker', with his clear almond skin, shining hazel eyes, and muscle-toned body but I had stopped looking at men that way for a long time, so I gave a pathetic attempt at a smile.

"Annabelle Clifton. Nice to meet you."

"Me too. Want me to introduce you to the rest of the team?" This was a welcome statement, as I had no clue how to introduce myself to all of the others, so I accepted and followed him back up the stairs and into a large conference room.

"This was Rebecca Parker, found in a deserted alley, with multiple ligature marks and stab wounds s-" A blonde woman was pointing toward the screen, where a very mutilated body lay crumpled like a discarded tissue.

"Morgan. You know we're not allowed to bring anyone in here during a case. Hotch is going to kill me." The blonde hissed through clenched teeth.  
>Meanwhile, the others turned around and openly stared, while I awkwardly fidgeted with my nails.<p>

"No, no J.J she 's -"

"No, Hotch is going to have my head when he finds out you brought in a kid in here." The blonde, who I now knew was JJ, replied.  
>The other members looked ready to get some popcorn, apparently something this scandalous didn't happen very often. In my awkward little corner, I straightened up, I couldn't stand it when someone called me a kid like that. I had just as much right to be there as they did.<p>

"I'm the new member of the BAU."I spoke loudly and clearly for once, looking this JJ straight in the eyes.

"Oh you're the new member? I'm so sorry. I didn't recognize you.I'm sorry." This time ,JJ was the awkward one as she stuttered the we both knew that she wasn't just apologizing for not recognizing me.

"Miss Clifton its's nice to see you with the team. You guys can take a break from the case for an hour if you want." Hotch entered the room, and the BAU team was so flabbergasted you would have thought that he had turned into a dancing penguin.

"Wait, did you just say that we could take a break?" One of the members called out, her gawking at him comically.

"Yes I did. Now get out before I change my mind." With that ,the entire team nearly stampeded to the door, with Derek Morgan grabbing my elbow. I swallowed down the bile creeping up my throat and followed in tow.  
>Once outside, the whole team turned around and faced me. I shuffled uncomfortably, waiting for someone to begin talking.<p>

"I'm Penelope Garcia, the tech analyst for the FBI. Wait, is that the new Prada purse? It's adorable!" Garcia seemed to be very nice, and I knew that she would be one of the harder ones to dupe. I had to watch out for her.

"Annabelle Clifton. Yes, it's the limited edition one."

"But it isn't even out in stores yet! How did you get it?"Ah, this would be uncomfortable to answer.

"Ladies, lets not get carried away. Let the men have a chance here. I'm David Rossi, but just call me Rossi." A late middle-aged man drawled, and I recognized him immediately.

"David Rossi as in the author? I've read all of your books, and I think that your theory on spontaneous profiling is accurate, despite contrary belief, and th-"

"Wow, she's going to get along with pretty boy, once he finally shows up." Morgan chuckled, and the rest of the team snickered along. I just didn't get what they were saying.

"Who is pretty boy?"

"Oh he's just our resident genius. He had the same reaction when he met Rossi."

"He 's probably around your age. How old are you?"Rossi blurted out,and all the women gave him dirty looks.

"It's fine,I'm 25 years old."

"Really? Pretty boy is too."The topic of my age brought a series of pangs to my chest. It was just a reminder of how long I had endured living in this hellhole that was life. I shoved the thought into a dark corner of my mind, and tuned back into the conversation. I didn't need my personal issues interfering with my new job.

"Hi. I'm JJ. I wanted to apologize for before. I'm just really prissy when it comes to case conferences."

"It's nice to meet you." This time it actually was, I could tell that she actually did feel bad. I decided to give her a break, and gave her a half-smile.  
>This was very odd. I had been expecting a formalities only, professional group, but instead I was handed a close-knit group. But more surprisingly, they were including me, trying to make me feel comfortable, usually people tended to realize that I was bad news and just kept away from me, but the BAU hadn't figured it out yet, however they would, and then it would be over, but for now I just decided to feel the high while it lasted.<p>

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late I just needed to get some coffee." A chipper voice voice exclaimed. That voice was bringing back so many memories, so many memories of endless pain, sleepless nights, and so much pain. It couldn't be. My life was not some Lifetime movie. I swiveled around and froze like a bird trapped in a snake's eyes. It was...but it couldn't be...he couldn't be here...not now . Through the blurry haze I put my face back into the mask of cool indifference,and glared.

I glared right through his soulful, beautiful brown eyes, I glared through the utter surprise in them, the pleading n them. I ignored it all, he couldn't fix it, not now he'd had so many chances, so many years to make it it right. But had been all my fault. So I spoke.

"Reid." The word revibrated through the entire room like an omen. He was so shocked he didn't even reply.

"Anna?" He mumbled it, like he had the right .The rage built up inside, he had no right to call me that, after all this time, after all he had done.

"It's Annabelle Clifton." The snub hung in the air, and I was surprised at how steady my voice sounded.

"Hey you two know each other?" The dark-haired woman who had come in with him asked.

"Unfortunately."

"What's the issue with you and pretty boy?"

Still too shocked to answer, he kept silent, so I answered,

"Nothing." That was the truth to some extent, we had nothing now.

"Well it looks like there is to me." Rossi injected unhelpfully.

"She is my best friend." The dimwit finally spoke, and now the urge to strangle him emerged once again.

"I am no such thing, Agent Reid."

"It's doctor Reid." The brunette supplied. So he had been off becoming a doctor when he left me.

"Fine."

"You should all get back to your case, the one hour Hotch gave you all is over." I motioned toward the conference door hastily, urging them to leave me in peace.  
>At this very moment, Hotchner showed up in front of us, and said grimly,<p>

"Clifton, we're going to need you for the case, it's family orientated."

And so my job at the BAU began.

* * *

><p>Hi!Thanks a lot for story is going to focus on Reid and Annabelle's story,as well as little snippets from the other characters,This will be a case fic. For anyone wondering why kickass Annabelle is so weepy and emotional,this will change,I just need it to play out like this for the plot.<p>

BTW, FF is cutting off parts of my Learning To Live for some reason,and this is whether I copy and paste it or just upload using a file.I'm sorry for the anyone knows how to fix this,please review and let me will greatly improve my writing and uploading speed.

Please R&R

Thanks,

Bibliobibuli1


	2. Geographical Profiling & Geniuses

"We need to put the previous case on low there is a serial killer in Ohio,and that is of top priority."

"Sir,you said that this was family orientated?"I asked meekly,not knowing whether I was allowed to ask questions.

"Yes, let JJ explain."Embarrassed,I slunk down in my chair,nodding.

Reid was still staring at me,and I repressed the compulsion to run from the room, my mood swings concerning him hadn't changed after all. I pulled up the pictures of the family,and I searched them quickly,looking for something that stood out

"This was the Hunter family,parents and one child. The father,Ronald Hunter was stabbed multiple times in the eyes,gut,and chest. The mother,Renee Hunter was shot,once a .44 to the head. The child,Ari Hunter was extensively tortured. There were burn marks,bruises,strangulation, and he was severely beaten."

The rest of the team cringed and even gasped when the picture of the child came up,but I just scanned the picture,something was wrong here.

"Something's wrong with the picture."

"What do you mean Clifton?"

"Look at the way the body is the child was beaten. He was stabbed from the front then the blood should have splattered to the front of the room,right?"

"Yes,so?"

"Then why is the blood splattered everywhere?"

"Maybe he was moved."

"While he was being tortured?"

"The Unsub had a strict time limit here,why would he take time out of his precious schedule to move the kid?"

"Good job,Clifton."

The discussion continued,but I could no longer concentrate.I was being drawn to his eyes,which were staring intently at me. How long had I hoped that he would come back for me?For how long had I wished that I could even _glimpse_ my long gone best friend?I had lied to them all,I couldn't stand them finding out my one weakness,the one and only thing that ever got to was my best friend,in every sense of the word,but then he it all whole team probably thought that we had been 'together' or something like that,but they they couldn't be more wrong.

My life was not come corny love story.

"Clifton!"Hotch's annoyed voice nearly yelled,and I snapped my head up,startled.

"Yes?"

"Can we stop staring at Reid and pay attention?"My face heated up,and I quickly nodded. At this rate I was going to be fired before I completed my first case. It would be a new record.

"I want you to make a geographical profile with Reid based off of the crime scenes."

Oh great,my first case,and I was to be paired up with Reid.

0_0 0_0

"Anna…"He pleaded with me, as if he had that right.

"It's Clifton to you. Should we start?"

"We should use the perimeter of the crime scenes to zoom in on the UNSUB's location."

"You take the first two crime scenes,and I'll take the last two."

"Ok."

The silence was so awkward it was wrong move,and BOOM,it would all explode into pandemonium. We worked quietly,each getting our work done as fast as the other. When Reid looked up, done I was reviewing my work. He seemed surprised that I was already completed,and I just quirked an eyebrow in response,challenging him to say something about it.

"Lets go over what we have then."We exchanged papers,making sure not to make any skin contact. It was awkward enough already. We didn't need to make it worse.

"Soo,Clifton?"Morgan sing-songed from across the room,not enjoying the quiet peace in the from his voice I could tell this wasn't going to be pretty,but I decided to entertain him anyway.

"Yes?"

"Got anyone special waiting back home?"He glanced at Reid,lingering on his expression,and I was trying to make Reid jealous,because he thought that we had been romantically paired before.

"No I don't."

"Are you sureeee?"He sang,trying to lighten the now heavy atmosphere.

"I'm perfectly sure,Morgan.I think that I would know if I had someone like that waiting for me."

"This isn't over,Clifton."

"Sure,sure."I scanned the board behind Reid,checking if his info matched the crime scene addresses,but my eyes fell upon him,seeing his reaction.I tore my eyes away. Why would he care anyway?But I didn't know that if I had looked for just a second longer,I would of seen the despair etched upon his face.

"This is wrong."

"What do you mean?I checked my work."Reid sounded utterly perplexed,as if he was never wrong.

"This crime scene is in Northern Akron,not in Dayton."

"What?Oh,it I'm never wrong."

"Well you are now."

" Wait,did you just say that pretty boy here was wrong?He's _never_ wrong."Morgan sounded just as confused as he he seriously _never _wrong?

"_Why _do you all keep saying that?He is wrong."

Reid with Morgan leaning over his shoulder looked over the map again.

"She's are wrong,pretty boy."

"But I'm _never _wrong."

"I can name off a whole list where you were wrong,Reid so how are you apparently _never_ wrong?"He looked up in surprise,I had never said his name this casually before. How did I today? I didn't know.

"Technically,he's a literal genius.187 IQ,eidetic memory,reading 20,000 words per minute and all."I already knew all of this,knowing him since we were both born and all,but this was where I trumped him.

"So?191 IQ,eidetic memory,26,750 words per minute. An added bonus is that I'm not as klutzy or socially else do you think I got in this young?"

At my words, Morgan looked dumbstruck. I usually didn't like bragging about my smarts, but it was done now.

"HA!Pretty boy,she's got you!Finally someone smarter than him!We were starting to think that he was the smartest person on Earth."

" He isn't."

"So why did they put you in here?No offence,but we didn't really need another genius in here."

Meanwhile,Reid was still staring,amazed at me,and my face once again started to warm up.I shook it off,and answered Morgan's question.I would have to phrase this carefully.

"I specialize in family related cases and the victims.I'm the person that talks to the survivors and needed someone who specialized in things like that here."

And with that,the mood shifted,and after an ok, we all got back to work.

0_0 0_0

"Can we talk?"He grabbed my wrist,just as the three of us were leaving,and I snatched it my head to both answer his question and shake off the nausea.

"Please.I just need to talk to you."

"What you need doesn't matter to me."Now that we were out of the workplace, I had no reason to be civil with him.

"You've got it all wrong."

"Oh,do I?Did I just imagine you leaving me like that?Right when you promised that you would always be there?'Cause if I did,let me know!"

"No,no you don't -"

"I don't want to hear what you have to say.I'm done.I have to be getting home."I stomped off,unable to keep the burning behind my eyes in any longer.

Once I got home,I let the pain escape. Escape for the first time in 8 years.

I had to be strong. He would not be my weakness. Not any more.

* * *

><p>Hey! If anyone is actually reading this,I wanted to thank you! And please me know what you liked,what you want,what you didn't like that much.<p>

R&R!

-Bibliobibuli1

P.S: Sorry about the missing words,FF is tweaking my work and cutting out some of the words,whether I copy and paste it or upload with a file. Does anyone know how to fix this?If you do,please review and let me know.


	3. Confessions & Awkwardness

I stepped back into my new workplace,and plopped down in my chair,quickly scanning the area. Satisfied that I had not seen who I was looking for, I reviewed the case file in my mind again. Nothing was adding up. We had no leads, no suspects, no witnesses. Honestly, we just needed more information, there was nothing that we could now. I sighed, dragging myself over to the crappy coffee machine and pouring myself a cup. It had been a long day, and I all I wanted was to curl up in my bed with the new Stephen King novel.

"Hey Clifton. It's paperwork day. Ugh."Morgan joined me at the coffee machine, groaning, but a slow grin crawled up my face. Paperwork was perfect today. It was exactly what I needed.

"Prentiss! You didn't get to meet Clifton yesterday properly, did you?" Morgan yelled to the brunette who had come in with Reid.

"No, I didn't." Prentiss came up, frowning at me. At least she had some intuition. It would help her in the end.

"Emily Prentiss."

"Annabelle Clifton." I introduced myself the same way, and Prentiss studied me, wary of my bleak response.

And with that, I turned around and walked over to my desk, pulling out a pen and starting from the first file on my desk. I didn't miss the odd looks from the rest of the team, and I continued on, happy to be away from the exhausting social interaction.

"So, where are you from?" Prentiss spoke, trying to figure me out.

"All around." Let them make what they wanted to from the statement. I wasn't going to openly give out my personal info in front of some people I had met less than a day ago.

"What do you mean?" While I pondered what to reply with, another voice chimed up

"Arcata, California. In the 2n-" What was he doing? Giving up information about me when I had made it clear that I was not going to tell them.

"That's enough." I morphed my voice into steel, and glared the same way at Reid. He was not going to step all over me again. I would never let it happen again.

"Sooo, you're a Cali girl. I would've never guessed that, Clifton." Morgan inserted his opinion, but I continued to glare at Reid. This wasn't surprising, I thought it odd that Morgan had kept silent this entire time.

"I didn't live there for long. Only in my childhood I had lived there." Reid shot me a confused glance, as did the others, but the rest of the team was wondering how Reid had known where I had lived, and I couldn't blame them. If someone like me had joined a group that was my family, I would be wondering the same thing.

"Arcata? I haven't heard of it?" Garcia said, attempting to diffuse the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"I'm not surprised. It's a very small town."  
>"There's so much paperwork to do. We've been putting this off for far too long. We should get back to work."JJ finally said, and I nodded at her, thanking her. She got the message, and smiled back.<p>

I turned back to my work, pretending to continue, but in reality I had been done a long time ago. I once again pulled out a book, but this time a medical textbook on child psychiatry. I had always had an interest in the field of psychiatry, even now. Frowning as I read a paragraph, I snatched a pen and piece of paper from my purse, spinning in my chair, I began to jot down my idea. The fundamental theory in the book seemed to be accurate, but the underlying concepts were off. I had never particularly enjoyed science in school, only tolerated it, but psychiatry had broken that quirk..

"Child psychiatry? That's deep." David Rossi peered openly at the book, unashamed at his obvious snooping.

"I suppose it is." Still writing, I looked over my notes again.

"I think I knew the author. Or was it another one? Hm,I can't remember."

"That's not possible. The author passed away in 1908." I blurted it out, unable to let the little tidbit of info stay stowed away in my head. I cringed, that was smart, Clifton, drawing unnecessary attention to yourself, I thought, berating myself.

"Clifton. My office. Now." Hotch's cool voice boomed above us. This day was getting better and better.

Once in the privacy of his office, Hotch focused his neutral gaze back on me, and I noticed he had a great poker face, much like myself. But Reid had always been the best at poker, I thought with a pang. And speaking of the devil, he himself sat fidgeting in the chair in the very office where I currently stood. He refused to look at me, whereas he had no problem doing so before, and anxiously glanced around the room, tapping his foot to an uneven beat. For such a supposedly 'amazing' profiler, he was one hell of a give-away when it came to body language.

"I know that you have some past history with , and as your superior I need to know what it is." I should have known, he had disappeared for quite some time, but I had been too wrapped up in my book pay attention. Of course he would rat me out.

"It is nothing that will interfere with my work, as I am sure that has told you here." I nearly spat it out, and Reid looked up, somehow surprised by my anger. I had thrown in a vague statement, which gave me more time to scope out the situation. That was good, I needed to figure out what I was doing here.

"Actually, Reid here refuses to tell me anything without your consent, Miss Clifton." Surprised, I sat back in the chair that had been offered to me. Why was he doing this? To play with my mind again, this time until it shattered permanently? There had to be a catch.

Unable to believe that I was saying this, I blurted out,

"You have my full consent with anything regarding and I." And there it was, the statement that would ruin my entire job here. But if I had not given my permission, it would have seemed odder than it already did, and I would have been fired on the spot. Better to enjoy it while it lasted.

"I want to hear your your part of this also, to prove Reid's validity." I frowned, caught off guard, but slid on my resting poker face again. Hotch probably has to do this, part of the procedure, it has nothing to do with me. Of course not.

"We were old childhood friends. Now we are not." It was pathetic how I could sum up everything that had happened between us in a mere eight it was what it was.

"That's it?" It was clear that Hotch had been expecting a longer, possibly more dramatic version. Well, I would just have to disappoint him.

"It is. That is all there there to it." I purposely kept my eyes on Hotch, never straying to the gangly figure that was staring right at me. I knew that I had severely hurt his feelings, but it wasn't like he hadn't done the same to me.

After some brief questions, like if I was adjusting to the job or not, I made my way out of Hotch's office. And for some reason all I could think about was the agonized expression on Reid's face.

* * *

><p>The days passed uneventfully, we had found 2 more families, all dead, but we were no closer to catching this UNSUB than office days were spent with more awkward silences everyday, and more fleeting glances from the resident genius. The team tried again and again to invite their newest member to dinner or out for a girl's night, but even the relentless Morgan's patience started to wane. They asked me out less and less, and I delved into my work, spending my every spare moment working on the case. Until one day, we had finally pinned down an old suspect.<p>

Members of the team disappeared into interrogation rooms, and by what I could see, all were fruitless in their attempts. Finally, near the end of the day, Hotch came up to my desk.

"Clifton. We have a suspect for the Hunter case. I want you to try to get something out of him."  
>Hotch handed me a very thick file, one that I had read many times, even with the eidetic memory and all, and I pretended to skim it over to escape the awkwardness following me like a dark cloud whenever I was with another one of the BAU. I couldn't of been more relieved as we finally reached the interrogation room in which was being held.<p>

"Why me? I mean if Rossi, Reid, Morgan, and you couldn't get it out of the UNSUB, how will I?" I already knew the answer,but it wouldn't hurt to confirm it.

"You're the last one."

"I'm the last resort." It was simply a statement, nothing more, no concealed veil of hurt or anything, but it seemed like Hotch took it for the latter. He opened his mouth to probably contradict me, but I stepped from the frying pan right into the fire before he could get a single word out.

The suspect was a simple looking man, nothing about him was out-of the-ordinary, but that was how he had gotten away with it. It was 99.9% certain that this man was our UNSUB, and we had the evidence to attest him, but it would be so much easier to get a confession.

"We both know that you killed the Hunter, Gray, and Martinez families, so lets cut the crap here."I chose the typical bad cop routine, one that I was sure Morgan had already used, but it was worth a try anyway.

"Did I really, Agent Clifton?"

"You were found snooping around all of the families' homes, you were not at work at the time of the families' abductions and killings, you have been known for your hatred of those families, and I'm positive that once the lab results come in, your DNA will be matched up to the one at the crime scenes."  
>"Well,well. The rookie can think for herself. So what do you think about being left out from the entire BAU family? Does it make your little head boil? Or does it make you want to curl up and cry?"<br>"This is not about my social life, . This is all about you and the families you killed."

"But talking about me is soooo boooring. Your life is so much more interesting. They should just put a picture of you next to the word traumatized in the dictionary. It's so sad, actually. How you had to turn to y-" I cut him off abruptly, acutely aware of Hotch's penetrating gaze burning into my back. I ignored him, and hastily said,

"How did you know the Martinez,Hunter,and Gray families?" I poured every ounce of my hatred for this monster, who had killed whole families without a second thought, who was mocking me in front of my boss into that question, and my eyes portrayed the same message.

It was clear that the UNSUB was surprised at my contempt, so I used that to my advantage.

"They were random people I saw."

"What made you kill them?" There it was, the question to it all. Why? The easiest and hardest question when it came to profiling. The question that grieving families sobbed and we tried to figure out. But it could never truly be answer.

"Let me guess. They were perfect. They were everything you weren't. And instead of dealing with it like a man, you decided to go and take the most cowardly way out. By killing them all." I knew that I was antagonizing him, but this was essential.

"You people call yourselves profilers? A fucking fortune teller could have told me more than you!" His eyes took on a deadly, dangerous glint, but I sat back in my chair, crossing my legs leisurely.

"They weren't perfect! They were terrible people! All of them! Especially the stupid, spoilt children! They all had it coming!"  
>" , you have just confessed to the murder of the Hunter, Martinez, and Gray families." This seemed much too easy. How had this UNSUB not cracked under the others? And more importantly, how the hell did he know so much about me?<p>

"I want to make a deal with you, Agent Clifton." This could not be good at all. It had been too easy. I could feel Hotch urging me to leave the room, I had gotten what was needed, perhaps even more, I had to leave before I did something I knew that I would regret.

"I'm not interested." I strode even faster toward the salvation that was the cool metal doors leading out of the interrogation, but not before the UNSUB snarled,

"I'll tell you exactly how I killed all of them. Every last detail, every scream, every tear, every drop of blood, and there was a lot of that, wasn't there?" I walked even faster toward the door, which was just an arm's length away now. I reached…

"All you need to do is tell your new team, especially your precious , exactly what happened when he left you. How you never recovered, how you're still medicated, and most importantly, tell them how much you lov-" I jerked like someone had shot me, and I realized that had been the worst thing that I could have done. I had hesitated for just a split second, only enough time to hear the brutal words that had followed. And I had regretted it. Greatly.

"Agent Clifton." I had already shrunk down, staring dismally at the floor, this was not going to be pretty. I had heard Hotch was known for his famous speeches.

"Good job. You got a confession out of the UNSUB, when myself, Reid, Rossi, and Morgan couldn't." I slowly lifted my head, I had definitely not been expecting this. Was he not going to at least reprimand me, if not fire me?

"Aren't you going to...fire me?" I chose my words carefully, hoping that I would not offend him with my question.

"Why would I do that?" Hotch sounded genuinely perplexed, and for a moment I doubted his sanity.

"The things he said," I paused, unsure how to continue.

"Don't you care?" Hotch did not say a single word for so long that I knew it had to be bad. Really bad.

"Any of these things will not affect your performance on this team, which has been excellent. And for the medication, I assume he means the ones that were prescribed by your former psychiatrist?"

"Yes, I still take them."

"I see no reason to fire you for getting an easy, clean confession from an UNSUB on your first case, and not falling into his trap. Better agents would have taken that deal."

Caught off guard, I stared at Hotch in amazement. He had seemed to be the most uptight, strict member of the team, other than myself, I thought he would of been the last one to say something like that.

"Thank you." This time, it was genuine, and I hoped that Hotch had seen that through my eyes. It turned out that Hotch did, based off the small smile he gave me.

This time, the walk back wasn't as awkward.


	4. Conferences & Car Conversations

Hi, sorry I haven't updated in so long! Its been crazy with classes, exams, and I haven't had time to put this chapter up. I can't thank my reviewers enough, especially CupCakes24, you really motivated me to get this chapter up. So on with it, and please read and review!

- Bibliobibuli1

P.s: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters, except for Annabelle.

* * *

><p>"In Seattle, we have a serial killer who seems to have no victimology whatsoever. The UNSUB has targeted men and women, different races, socio-economic backgrounds, and none of the victims have ever met. Seattle PD hasn't been able to find any connections."<p>

"How many has the UNSUB killed?" Rossi asked from the front.

"Right now, we have found 25 bodies, but we believe that there are more that we haven't found."

"How come we're called in now? I mean, we have 25 bodies." Prentiss asked, and I nodded in her direction.

"Another team was called in, but they backed off." Backed off? That was unheard of. The others gave similar questions looks, and JJ supplied the answer.

"They couldn't solve the case, so we're being called in."

"What makes them think that we can solve the case?" I asked, causing a few heads to swivel around in my direction. After all, I wasn't exactly known for my participation skills.

"I don't know."

There was a very ominous pause, broken with Hotch's,

"Read the case file on the jet. Wheels up in thirty."

* * *

><p>"Statistically, only 0.2% of killers can get up to 15 bodies without being caught, so this UNSUB is a rare one." I didn't even need to look up to see that it was Reid that had rattled off the statistic.<p>

Lately, he had been strangely quiet, never speaking directly to me. He had taken the hint that I just wanted to be left alone, and actually obliged. Morgan had backed off too, really quickly. Quicker than I had expected. The team went out for dinner together, had girls nights out, they all went to Rossi's home for the occasional cooking lesson. They all interacted outside of work, like a family. While I stayed holed up in my apartment all day, doing over cases again and again. It got quite monotonous, but it was the way that things had to be.

"So no DNA or forensic evidence was found at any of the crime scenes?"

"None at all."

"These murders were planned out, meticulously. In not a single one did the UNSUB lose control. This doesn't look like a thrill killer." Hotch added.

"But then why would he kill so many people? The more you kill, the more chances there are to be caught. Why take the risk?" Prentiss asked, and was met with silence.

Everyone looked over their files once again, reviewing for something that they might have missed, but I just leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, reading the file over in my head.

"Clifton, this isn't a good time to take a nap." Rossi nearly snapped.

"People with eidetic memory don't have to read things again, they can just see it in their mind whenever they wish." Reid interjected, and my I opened my eyes, ready to give the death glare that I was so famous for, but I was stopped by JJ.

"You have an eidetic memory?" And here it goes. It seemed that Morgan hadn't gotten around telling everyone about our conversation.

"Yeah."

"She's just downplaying it, aren't you Clifton?" Morgan said, a twinkle in his eyes.

"You-"

"Clifton here is even smarter than our resident genius. What was it? 191 IQ, reading OVER 20,000 words per minute?" And it was out.

I flicked my eyes over the team, getting precisely the reaction that I was expecting. Wide eyes, eager glances, too much attention. shifted in my seat. They weren't different at all.

"It's nothing." It was a feeble attempt to get the dreaded spotlight off of me, but it was an attempt nonetheless.

"What are the odds that TWO geniuses happen to be assigned to a single BAU team?" Prentiss asked.

The others murmured assent, and turned toward me once again.

"Even smarter than our Reid. This is a very weird day." Rossi muttered.

"We should get back to work." The aforementioned Reid suggested, sneaking in a glance at me. I gave small smile in response and then dropped my eyes and turned away. What was I doing? Conversing with the enemy? Why was I calling him an enemy now? And why was it this easy, too easy to lower my guard around him? Ugh, now I couldn't even think clearly!

My thoughts tangled up, I picked up the actual case file this time, pretending to read it, but really I just needed the feel of something real in my hands. I took a deep breath and went over what (little) we knew about the case. 25 found bodies, no forensic evidence, and all bodies displayed visible signs of torture. Whether it was burns or strangulation or drowning or enucleation, each of the victims had been brutally tortured. However, for some of the victims, notes from the UNSUB were found at their homes. The UNSUB seemed to be stalking some of his victims. There was no connection that we could find between them, but Garcia was digging.

"Prentiss, Morgan, and I will begin to look around some of the crime scenes. Rossi and JJ, start setting up at the station. Clifton and Reid, start interviewing the victims' families." Even before Hotch had closed his mouth, everyone shot him sceptical looks. Sending the socially-dumb genius and sociopathic newbie who clearly had issues toward each other to interview grieving families did _not _sound like a good idea. But Hotch was the team leader for a reason, and after he whipped out his trademark 'Hotch-Glare', everyone immediately agreed.

* * *

><p>"Let's go." No need to make it even more awkward than it already, I had enough of it to last a lifetime.<p>

"Where should we go first?" Which mourning family should we bother first? I picked off a name the list in the case file randomly.

"Sophie Walker?"

"Sure."

We both settled into the SUV, with me nestled in the driver's seat and Reid sitting shotgun.

"We need to talk." Dammit, I should have known that this was coming. It had been too peaceful these days, I had known it. I should have known better than to relax here. It was a miracle that he hadn't approached me before now.

"I wanted to apologize." Not exactly what I had been expecting, but it was just another game, to make me comfortable before he struck again. I gave no response.

"I understand that you're mad at me." He understands? What type of idiot did he think I was? I just pressed down harder on the pedal. The faster I could get out of this damn car, the better.

"Can't you answer me?" No, I will NOT.

"You're not making it any easier, you know. I been wanting to explain since I first saw you." Good for him.

"I left for a reason." I realized that, you dolt. Again with the stupid comments.

"It wasn't what you think, Anna." For a genius with an eidetic memory, he sure forgot a lot of things.

"Don't call me that." I kept my gaze forward, not making any eye contact, though I could feel his eyes burning into me.

"I didn't want to leave." Sure, he _totally _didn't just ditch me and skip off to his perfect life. I raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"I really didn't. I've always looked for you, even now." That was new. Like I was going to believe his lies.

"I know you don't have a reason to trust me, but I just want to have the full story. I don't expect us to be the same if I tell you, but at least you'll know the truth."

"How am I supposed to know that your supposed story is true?"

"You don't. You just have to try to trust me."

"I can't do that." No matter how much I try.

"Then just listen. Please." It was a tempting offer, to get back everything that I had ever really wanted back in the blink of an eye. I opened my mouth, to reply, and then immediately closed it. And then I began again.

"How do I know that this isn't a trick? You'll probably just leave again."

"This time, you have nothing to lose." It was true. I did have nothing to lose. But there was no way that I was handing my broken trust right back into his hands, the very hands that had smashed everything that I had been before. In all honesty, he had ruined my life. Why would I let him damage the tiny sliver of it that I had left? I wouldn't.

"N-"

"Just- Just think about it. Please. You don't have to tell me now." He was playing the 'please' card again. It wasn't going to work this time. I was stronger now. I pulled up in front of the house, quickly cutting off the engine and sloppily pulling the keys out. Almost out of the car, I looked back. Why wasn't Reid following me?

"Annabelle no-"

I turned away, tired of his pleading. And faced the jagged edge of a very long, very pointy knife.


End file.
